Rangers End 5-Game Skid with Dramatic Shootout Win Over Penguins

The New York Rangers broke their five-game losing streak Saturday with a thrilling 3-2 shootout victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins. After falling behind 2-0 early, the Rangers mounted a comeback to force overtime before Vincent Trocheck sealed the win in the shootout.

The New York Rangers ended their five-game losing skid in dramatic fashion Saturday, overcoming an early two-goal deficit to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in a shootout at home.

Vincent Trocheck delivered the decisive blow in the first round of the shootout, cutting from the lower left circle and firing a shot past goaltender Stuart Skinner on the glove side to secure the victory.

Pittsburgh appeared to control the game early, building a 2-0 advantage after Anthony Mantha and Ryan Shea found the net in the opening three minutes of the first and second periods respectively.

Mantha opened the scoring just 2:08 into the contest on a power play, deflecting Erik Karlsson’s shot from the right point past Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin.

The Penguins nearly extended their lead less than a minute later when Bryan Rust scored, but New York successfully challenged for goaltender interference after Mantha’s skate made contact with Shesterkin in the crease, nullifying the goal.

Shea did make it 2-0 early in the second period when his shot from the slot area found its way through traffic and past Shesterkin at 1:59.

New York began their rally when Mika Zibanejad cut the deficit in half with 10 minutes remaining in the middle frame, converting a one-timer off a pass from Trocheck during a power play opportunity.

Taylor Raddysh completed the comeback just 2:57 into the final period, redirecting a pass from Vladislav Gavrikov past Skinner’s pads to even the score at 2-2.

Shesterkin was outstanding in goal for the Rangers, making 31 saves total including five crucial stops in overtime. The Russian goaltender twice denied Evgeni Malkin in the final half of regulation and twice more in the extra session, then stopped rookie Egor Chinakov in the shootout’s second round.

The Rangers sealed their victory when Thomas Novak’s third-round shootout attempt sailed wide of the net.

Skinner made 23 saves for Pittsburgh before being beaten by Trocheck’s shootout winner.

The victory improved New York’s recent record to 3-11-2 over their last 16 games and 2-6-1 in their previous nine home contests. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh fell to 9-1-3 in their past 13 games and missed an opportunity to earn their third win against the Rangers this season.